We continue from where we left off and deal with Menj's appeal to John 17:3.
Menj falsely assumes that since Jesus claimed that the Father is the only true God this
undermines the Trinitarian belief that Jesus is also God. Looking at the context of John 17
we discover that the Lord Jesus nowhere denies his Deity, but actually affirms it:
"After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: Father, the time has come. Glorify YOUR SON, that YOUR SON may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people THAT HE MIGHT GIVE ETERNAL LIFE TO ALL THOSE YOU HAVE GIVEN HIM. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I HAD WITH YOU BEFORE THE WORLD BEGAN ... For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me ... All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come TO ME through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name - the name you gave me - so that they may be one as we are one ... My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be IN US so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I IN THEM and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me BECAUSE YOU LOVED ME BEFORE THE CREATION OF THE WORLD. Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them AND THAT I MYSELF MAY BE IN THEM." John 17:1-5, 8, 10-11, 20-26
In this passage, Jesus affirms that:
These points should indicate to the readers that Jesus was not denying his Deity, but affirming the Father's Deity. Jesus was simply acknowledging what every God-believing Jew must acknowledge, namely that the Father is the only true God. Since the Bible teaches that Jesus was both God and man, man as God intended man to be, it should not surprise us to find the man Christ Jesus acknowledging the Deity of his Father. After all, isn't it true that the Father is truly God?
Notice that Jesus did not say that the Father alone is the only true God, which would essentially be a denial that Christ was also God. This fact is important to remember since the doctrine of the Trinity teaches that each Person of the Godhead is the only true God and that the only true God exists as three Persons. This is why one can refer to a specific Person of the Godhead as the only true God without having to mention the others.
For instance, it is correct to say that the Father is the only true God, the Son is the only true God, or the Holy Spirit is the only true God. But it would be incorrect to say that the Father alone is the only true God, the Son alone is the only true God, or that the Holy Spirit alone is the only true God.
Therefore, to say that the Father is the only true God no more disproves the Deity of Christ than saying that Jesus is the only true God disproves the Deity of the Father. To help make this clearer, note what John writes of Jesus:
"In him was life, and that life was the light of men ... The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world." John 1:4, 9
John calls Jesus the true light. Jesus also referred to himself as the Light:
"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12
"As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." John 9:4-5
"Then Jesus told them, You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light. When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them." John 12:35-36
"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." John 12:46
Elsewhere John calls God the Light:
"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." 1 John 1:5-7
If we apply Menj's poor and erroneous exegesis we would be forced to conclude that God cannot be the Light since Jesus is the true Light. Yet, the New Testament teaches that Jesus can be the true Light without this nullifying the fact that the Father is also the Light since both exist as the one true God.
Here is another example:
"My reason is that certain men have slipped in who have long ago been appointed by the Scriptures to this judgment, ungodly men, turning the undeserved kindness of our God into an excuse for loose conduct and proving false to our only Sovereign Owner and Lord (ton monon despoten kai kurion hemon), Jesus Christ." Jude 4
Jesus is said to be our only Sovereign Owner and Lord. Yet elsewhere the Father is said to be our Sovereign Owner and Lord:
"And look! There was a man in Jerusalem name Sim'e-on, and this man was righteous and reverent, waiting for Israel's consolation, and holy spirit was upon him. Furthermore, it had been divinely revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ (ton christon kuriou). Under the power of the spirit he now came into the temple; and as the parents brought the young child Jesus in to do for it according to the law, he himself received it into his arms and blessed God and said: Now Sovereign Lord (despota), you are letting your slave go free in peace according to your declaration;" Luke 2:25-29
"After being released they went to their own people and reported what things the chief priests and the older men had said to them. Upon hearing this they with one accord raised their voices to God and said: Sovereign Lord (Despota), you are the One who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all the things in them ... Even so, both Herod and Pontius Pilate with [men of] nations and with peoples of Israel were in actuality gathered together in this city against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, in order to do what things your hand and counsel had foreordained to occur. And now, Lord (kurie) give attention to their threats, and grant your slaves to keep speaking your word with all boldness ..." Acts 4:23-24, 27-29
"You are worthy, O Lord (ho kurios), even our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power, because you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created." Revelation 4:11
"And they cried out with a loud voice, saying: Until when, Sovereign Lord (ho despotes) holy and true, are you refraining from judging and avenging our blood upon those who dwell on the earth?" Revelation 6:10
The Father and the Son are both the Sovereign Owner and Lord of all since what is said of one Member of the Godhead as far as their divine nature and attributes are concerned can also be said of the other Members since they all exist as the one God. This can also be seen from the fact that the very Gospel that records Jesus' words that the Father is the only true God also calls Christ God:
"Thomas said TO HIM, My Lord and my God! Then Jesus told him, Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." John 20:28-31
This brief exegesis of John 17:3 exposes Menj's poor attempt of trying to refute the Deity of Christ. Menj has only managed to expose his ignorance of basic NT teaching and Trinitarian theology.
MENJ:
8. In various other verses Jesus(P) is referred to as the servant of God:
"Behold my servant, whom I have chosen" (Matthew 12:18)
"To you first, God having raised up His servant Jesus, sent him to bless you" (Acts 3:26)
These two verses, which are a fulfillment of Isaiah 42:1-4, speak of Jesus as the servant of God and not as God.
The Christian will usually argue that the terms 'prophet' or 'servant' are symbolic and are not to be taken literally. That is fine as long as this principle is applied to other equally important issues. Why does it have to be that when it comes to the title of 'Son of God' the Christian insists on taking it literally?
RESPONSE:
Menj again presumes to speak on behalf of Christians when all he is actually doing is attacking a straw man. It is demonstrated again that Menj has no clue what historic Christianity actually teaches regarding the person and work of Christ. He also shows that he is not familiar with the actual Christian responses to his objections. Or, if he is, then he is simply being deceptive.
First, we have already shown that both Matthew and the book of Acts affirm the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. A careful reading of the context of Acts 3 will further illustrate this:
"One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer - at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, Look at us! So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH, walk. Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God ... While the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon's Colonnade. When Peter saw this, he said to them: Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned THE HOLY AND RIGHTEOUS ONE and asked that a murderer be released to you. YOU KILLED THE AUTHOR OF LIFE, BUT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD. We are witnesses of this. By faith IN THE NAME OF JESUS, this man whom you see and know was made strong. IT IS JESUS' NAME and the faith that comes THROUGH HIM that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see. Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer ... When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways." Acts 3:1-9, 11-18, 26
Let us highlight some of Peter's points for our readers to see:
These points make it quite obvious that the Apostles didn't preach a Jesus who was only a human servant of God. Since Islam denies all eight points, with the possible exception of point 2, it is not a revelation from the true God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Second, Menj erroneously assumes that Jesus being a servant somehow rules out his Deity. As we keep reiterating, the NT plainly teaches that Jesus is both truly God and truly human. When Christ became man he also became a servant:
"Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Philippians 2:5-8
Interestingly, Menj correctly noted that Jesus' role as God's servant fulfills Isaiah 42 but fails to realize the significance of his admission. There are particularly four passages in Isaiah that speak of Messiah as God's servant. Cf. 42:1-7; 49:1-10; 50:4-11; 52:13-53:12
One in particular speaks of God's servant suffering for the sins of his people and actually identifies the servant as God's own arm:
"Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He [Sam- the arm of the Lord] grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." Isaiah 53:1-12
Isaiah uses the expression "the arm of the Lord" to refer to God's own power which he uses to accomplish his purposes:
"The LORD will cause men to hear his majestic voice and will make them SEE HIS ARM COMING DOWN with raging anger and consuming fire, with cloudburst, thunderstorm and hail." Isaiah 30:30
"O LORD, be gracious to us; We have waited for You. Be their arm every morning, Our salvation also in the time of trouble." Isaiah 33:2 NKJV
"See, the Sovereign LORD comes WITH POWER, and HIS ARM RULES FOR HIM. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young." Isaiah 40:10-11
"My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and MY ARM will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for MY ARM ... Awake, awake! Clothe yourself with strength, O ARM OF THE LORD; awake, as in days gone by, as in generations of old. Was it not YOU who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced that monster through?" Isaiah 51:5, 9
"The LORD will lay bare HIS HOLY ARM in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God." Isaiah 52:10
"The LORD has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm: Never again will I give your grain as food for your enemies, and never again will foreigners drink the new wine for which you have toiled;" Isaiah 62:8
"I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that no one gave support; so MY OWN ARM worked salvation for me, and my own wrath sustained me. I trampled the nations in my anger; in my wrath I made them drunk and poured their blood on the ground." Isaiah 63:5-6 cf. 59:15b-16
"Then his people recalled the days of old, the days of Moses and his people - where is he who brought them through the sea, with the shepherd of his flock? Where is he who set his Holy Spirit among them, WHO SENT HIS GLORIOUS ARM OF POWER to be at Moses' right hand [Sam- notice that God sends his arm of power as one sends a messenger], who divided the waters before them, to gain for himself everlasting renown." Isaiah 63:11-12
These verses demonstrate that the servant of Isaiah 53 is the visible manifestation of God's own power sent to redeem God's people. In other words, the servant is an intrinsic aspect of God's own Being!
MENJ:
All these verses that speak of Jesus(P) as a Prophet of God, a Messenger of God and indeed the servant of God if anything affirm the fact that Jesus(P) was a man who worshipped God like any other mortal.
RESPONSE:
It is true that Jesus was prophet, messenger and servant who while on earth worshiped his Father. Yet, it is also true that He is the eternal word, wisdom, power, arm and Son of God who is worshiped as God.
MENJ:
9. Jesus(P) did not think of himself as being perfect, let alone divine. He knew in his heart that only God is perfect:
"Why do you call me good? No one is good but one, that is God." (Mark 10:18)
These are hardly the words of someone who thought of himself as God come down to earth in the form of a man! In actual fact in these words Jesus makes a very clear distinction between God and himself.
RESPONSE:
Menj's misleading selectivity leads him to erroneous conclusions. He automatically assumes that Jesus is denying his essential goodness, without taking into consideration the overall context of Mark and the NT to see if this is indeed what Christ was trying to convey. In order to understand what Jesus meant we need to interpret his words in the overall Christological picture of the Gospel writers. Once this is done it will become quite apparent that the last thing the writers were trying to do was cast doubt on Jesus' essential goodness. Here are some citations from Mark which helps put things in proper perspective:
"Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are - the Holy One of God! Be quiet! said Jesus sternly. Come out of him! The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, What is this? A new teaching - and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him." Mark 1:23-27
"... And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men ... And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, My son, your sins are forgiven. But there were some of the scribes sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone? And immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, "Your sins are forgiven"; or to say, "Arise take up your pallet and walk"? But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins - He said to the paralytic - I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home. And he rose and immediately took up the pallet and went out in the sight of all; so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, We have never seen anything like this." Mark 2:3, 5-12
"Consequently, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." Mark 2:28
"After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters - one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!" Mark 9:2-7
Jesus is God's Holy One, God's beloved Son, the Lord of the Sabbath and has authority to forgive sins, something which only God can do. These are just some of the many passages from Mark that establish the essential purity and divinity of the Lord Jesus. Here are several from John:
"Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." John 6:68-69
"He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him." John 7:18
"The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him ... Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me?" John 8:29, 46
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep ... I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me." John 10:11, 14
Second, notice that Jesus does not say "I am not good, only God is good", but simply poses a question to the man to think more deeply about the implications of his words. The implication being that if Jesus is good, and only God is good, then Jesus is God. If the man truly believed this then he must be willing to abandon everything for Christ. This is precisely what Jesus demanded:
"And looking at him, Jesus felt love for him, and said to him, One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, FOLLOW ME." Mark 10:21
Jesus demands a devotion that is to be given solely to God. This can be seen from the fact that Jesus' demand was made right after the man had indicated his observance to the last six commands of the Ten Commandments. These commands were given to govern a person's relationship with others. The first four commandments govern a person's devotion to God. Amazingly, Jesus never asked the man whether he had observed the first four commandments since to wholeheartedly follow Jesus is to fulfill one's obligation to God! This means that Jesus was implicitly claiming to be God.
So much for Menj's objection.
MENJ:
10. In all of the Bible, there is not one verse where Jesus(P) says that he is God come down to earth, that he is divine or that he should be worshipped. On the contrary he taught the people to worship God in heaven:
"You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve" (Luke 4:8)
If Jesus(P) is God who come down to earth, why did he made such a statement? Did he not know it himself?
RESPONSE:
We have repeatedly shown that both Jesus and the authors of the NT affirm that Jesus is the eternal Son of God. We have shown where Jesus commands the worship due to God. Here are verses where Jesus testifies that he came down from heaven:
"No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven - the Son of Man." John 3:13
"Jesus said to them, I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is HE who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world ... Then Jesus declared, I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty ... For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me ... At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, I am the bread that came down from heaven. They said, Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, "I came down from heaven"?" John 6:32-33, 35, 38, 41-42
"But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." John 6:50-51
"Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever." John 6:57-58
"What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before!" John 6:62
"But he continued, You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world." John 8:23
"Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me." John 8:42
"No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and ENTERED the world; now I am LEAVING the world and GOING BACK to the Father." John 16:27-28
"And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began." John 17:5
Finally, it MAY BE true that Jesus never said that he was God, but it is also true that he never denied that he was God. Nor does the Father ever say that he is God in the NT either.[1] What does this prove? Absolutely nothing except that Menj likes to argue from silence. The Bible doesn't record all that Jesus said or did, but gives us all that is sufficient for our salvation:
"Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." John 20:30-31
"Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written." John 21:25
Hence, it may well be that Jesus did in fact say he was God (yet with some qualification). Yet, it seems more likely that Jesus at first never came out and said that he was God in order to avoid the confusion that such a statement may have had on his audiences. The term God was often, but not always, used in reference to the Father. For Jesus to have simply come out and say that he was God may have given the false impression that Jesus was claiming to be the Father. Christ needed to safeguard the personal distinctions of the Godhead in order to prevent people from misunderstanding him. Whatever the reason may have been the NT data is sufficient to show that Jesus claimed, and his followers believed, that he was the eternal Son of God who was fully God in nature.
We now turn the tables on Menj. In all of the Quran there is not one verse where Jesus "says" that he is not the Son of God, that he did not come down from heaven to die for sinners, and where he forbids people from worshiping him. Using Menj's logic, this would prove that the Quran teaches that Jesus is God's Son who had come down from heaven to die for sinners and is to be worshiped since there are no Quranic verses where Christ denies these claims.
MENJ:
The divinity of Jesus(P) is never taught by Jesus(P) and has no origin in the New Testament, but was adopted some time after the death of Jesus(P).
In addition to the previous evidence from the New Testament that refute the divinity of Jesus(P), it can also be demonstrated that the Jesus' divinity is inconsistent with the prophecies contained in the Old Testament about the coming of the Messiah.
RESPONSE:
The divinity of Jesus is clearly taught by Jesus and has its basis in the historically reliable New Testament documents, and was the position of the first eyewitnesses of Christ.
In addition to the previous evidence from the New Testament which establishes the divinity of the Lord Jesus, it can also be demonstrated that Jesus' divinity is completely consistent with the prophecies contained in the Old Testament about the coming of the Messiah, especially with the OT and Intertestamental literature's Wisdom tradition. We will present just two OT prophecies to prove this:
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Father of Eternity (abi ad), The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this." Isaiah 9:6-7
Here is the Jewish Targum's interpretation of this passage:
"For to us a Son is born, to us a Son is given; and His name is called from of old, Wonderful, Counselor, Eloha (God, Arabic- Allah), The Mighty, Abiding to Eternity, THE MESSIAH, because peace shall be multiplied on us in His days." Targum Jonathan
And:
"Behold the days come, saith the LORD that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch ... And this is his name whereby he will be called: JEHOVAH (YHWH) OUR Righteousness." Jeremiah 23:5-6
Note again what the Targum says:
"What is the name of the KING MESSIAH? R. Abba son of Kohana said, JEHOVAH, for it is written: This is HIS name whereby HE shall be called, JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." Midrash On Ezekiel 48:35; Targum Jonathan
Therefore, the Messiah of OT Prophecy is none other than the Mighty God Jehovah who is our righteousness!
MENJ:
Conclusions
Jesus(P) was a Jew who lived and worshipped God according to the Law of Moses(P). Indeed, Jesus(P) himself is reported to have said:
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil" (Matthew 5:17-18)
Thus we conclude that the evidences against the divinity of Jesus(P) is too enormous to ignore. Any sincere Christian reading the above should consider what did Jesus(P) really say and follow his words instead of submitting to doctrines that has no basis in the Bible. As the Qur'ân tells us about the mission of Jesus(P):
"And (remember) when Jesus son of Mary said: O Children of Israel! Verily! I am the messenger of Allah unto you, confirming that which was before me in the Torah" (Qur'ân, 61:6)
And only God knows best!
RESPONSE:
Jesus was indeed a Jew who lived and worshipped God and came to COMPLETE and FULLFILL the Law of Moses. Yet, the testimony of the Lord Jesus and his followers shows that Jesus was more than a Jew. He is the eternal Son of God who became man for the salvation of his people.
Furthermore, seeing that Matthew 5:17-18 has nothing to do with Deity of Christ we see that Menj is only good at tossing out red herrings.
Finally, since the Quran is not the word of the true God it really doesn't matter what it says.
Thus we conclude that the evidences for the divinity of our risen Lord Jesus are too enormous to ignore. Any sincere Christian and Muslim reading our refutation of Menj's gross errors and misleading selectivity should consider what Jesus really did say and follow his words instead of submitting to Islamic doctrines that have no basis in the Holy Bible. Once a person submits to God's true word, the Holy Bible, it will be inevitable that that person will worship our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, God's beloved Son, as all creation is going to do one day:
"Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:9-11
"And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, Let all God's angels worship him." Hebrews 1:6
"In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will JUDGE the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge ... Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the LORD, the righteous JUDGE, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. The LORD will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen." 2 Timothy 4:1, 8, 18
"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen." 2 Peter 3:18
"before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father - to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen." Revelation 1:5-6
"And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down BEFORE THE LAMB. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth. Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise! Then I heard EVERY CREATURE in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: To him who sits on the throne AND TO THE LAMB be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever! The four living creatures said, Amen, and the elders fell down and worshiped." Revelation 5:8-14
By the sovereign grace of our Almighty God we will forever remain in the service of our risen Lord and eternal Savior Jesus Christ, our only true love and friend. Amen. We love you Lord Jesus. You are our precious and sweet Savior forever.
Note:
1. There is possibly a verse where Jesus does call himself God. It is Revelation 21:7. Yet, the context is such that it can be referring to the Father. For a closer look at the passage and the evidence which we feel demonstrates that it is Christ speaking, please read these articles: [1], [2].
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